The Center for Health and Wellness in Clinton, N.C., started a new fitness program last week called Hydro Active. The class combines the fun of water fitness with the tried-and-true results of calisthenics, while adding an element of instability which comes from doing those exercises on a floating fitness mat.
“This revolutionary floating fitness mat adds a totally unique body workout by creating more focus on core muscle groups and improving balance and coordination,” said Tawanda Outlaw, programs manager at the Clinton Center for Health and Wellness. “The harder you work, the more difficult and intense the workout becomes.”
At the Center in Clinton, the classes take place in the lap pool and are taught by certified fitness instructors who have undergone an additional training to learn safe practices on the Boga Fitmat. The class includes traditional exercises such as push-ups, sit-ups, planks, burpees and squats, while the uncontrolled motion of the mat offers an intense core body challenge.
“This is an aquatic workout, and while participants will be doing land exercises on the floating mat, they have to enter the pool to mount the mat, and there’s a good chance of falling in the pool during the workout,” says Outlaw. She recommends workout clothes in a quick-dry fabric, and bare feet.
Anita Pope, a Clinton resident and longstanding member of the Center who just recently started attending group classes, told The Sampson Independent, “You tend to get bored doing the same things all the time. This class is fun and offers a different atmosphere to exercise in.”
The forty-five minute, full body workout is gaining popularity around the world, and according to Outlaw, it’s excellent for balance recovery training. “This is probably a workout unlike any most people have ever experienced. It will challenge muscles for a full body workout and you will use muscles you didn’t know you had,” she said.
